The Streets
by SophieRomanoff
Summary: An Avengers streets AU: Natasha, Clint, Bucky, Steve, Tony and Bruce all live together on the streets or in abandoned buildings as they steal for food and medicine, fight to stay warm and safe, and survive. Every character has a backstory, and Thor and other characters will be added later on. Rubbish at summaries, super angsty, trigger warnings inside.
1. The Beginning

So it's ya girl, back at it again starting another multi chaptered fic.

Tw's: self-harm, suicidal thoughts, abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, sickness, stealing and general crime etc.

Ages are all around 15/16.

Also I have no real plan, I'm just writing what comes to my head.

Leave a comment and enjoy!

/

"Natasha?" Clint asked softly, closing the door behind him.

They'd been staying in some kind of abandoned flats and in the dim light coming from the single window, Clint could see Natasha's red hair sticking out the blanket.

He walked over to the pile of ratty towels and blankets, kneeling down but not touching the figure.

"Tasha, it's time to wake up." He said, voice louder.

The figure stirred and a head popped out.

"Clint?" She murmured, rubbing her eyes and wincing as she moved into a sitting position.

"Hey, you didn't wake up whilst I was gone?" He frowned, touching the back of his hand to her forehead.

Natasha shrugged, pulling back. "I'm fine." She murmured.

"You're still hot." He sighed, opening his jacket and placing down a bottle of Gatorade, painkillers and cold and flu medicine.

"Where are the others?" Natasha reached for the bottle, her voice cracking. They hadn't had anything to drink for a while.

"Tony and Bruce caught the free bus to the next town, they're going to the shelter to get some warm food. Steve and Bucky went to look for cleaner sheets." He shook a couple of pills into his hand and passed them over.

Natasha barely supressed a cough as she took the pills with a trickle of Gatorade.

"More, Natasha, the others will bring some water back. You need that."

The redhead sighed, taking another sip and placing the bottle on the ground.

"It's just a cold." She shrugged, moving to the left of the blankets so Clint could sit on them instead of on the concrete.

"Maybe, but we can't let it get worse." He murmured, sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Now what?" She mumbled, a common question.

Their days revolved around getting food, staying warm and trying to entertain themselves.

"You get some more rest." He murmured, guiding her head to his shoulder.

...

When Natasha next woke up, her eyes felt heavy and she heard voices.

"I dunno, man, her fevers not going down."

"We can't go to the hospital, you know that."

"Yeah." A voice snapped. "I do. But the meds aren't working, we've been giving them to her for days and nothing."

Natasha didn't want to alert them that she'd been listening, but her chest was burning.

Coughing painfully, she blinked her eyes open to find five concerned pairs of eyes on her.

Clint pressed the bottle to her lips and she swallowed the Gatorade.

"Hey Red." Tony murmured, putting a Styrofoam bowl in front of her.

"They were giving soup today." Bruce murmured. "Tony distracted the guy so I could get a couple more portions."

Natasha smiled weakly, opening the lid. It was still warm.

"Me and Buck snagged some crackers on the way back." Steve smiled, handing her a packet.

"Thanks." She said warmly, holding the bowl in her hands for a moment before digging in.

Everyone talked amongst themselves, about what they'd gotten that day.

"Yeah and they just had a box outside their letterbox, like who just leaves shit at their doorstep, too lazy to take it to the store?" Bucky shrugged, opening his backpack.

"Look at this shit, it's perfectly fine." He shook his head.

"There's even a pack of cards." He laughed, placing what he'd gotten in a line.

A pack of cards, a couple of hats and gloves, some books and a sleeping bag.

Tony reached for the sleeping bag, unzipping it. "This is big enough for at least half of us unfolded." He grinned.

Clint grabbed one of the hats, tugging it down over Natasha's red hair.

She rolled her eyes but let him, still dipping crackers into her soup.

"If you feel up to it, the rec centre is open tomorrow. Free showers, actual heating, pool table." Steve grinned.

Bruce sighed. "Are we sure we can risk it? They might get suspicious."

"The place is full of kids, they won't know that we're homeless." Bucky shrugged.

"A shower sounds great." Natasha murmured, her voice hoarse, even after drinking.

"We'll see how you feel tomorrow." Clint murmured.

"Hey we got cookies too." Tony hummed. "They were on the past-date table, but they're still good." He shrugged, breaking the two cookies into six pieces and handing them out.

Everyone seemed to relax a little, enjoying their piece of cookie and settling under the sleeping bag and blankets.

"Damn that's cosy." Bucky murmured, the six of them pressed up close to each other.

"Warmest I've been in ages." Bruce agreed, picking up one of the books and flicking through it. Tony looked over his shoulder as he read.

Bucky and Steve flicked through the cards. "All there." Steve grinned, setting them out for a game of solitaire.

Natasha nuzzled up to Clint, the latter shaking out a couple more meds and giving them to her.

"See, we can do this on our own." Clint murmured, taking Natasha's hand and pressing a kiss to her palm.

As it turned out, they really couldn't do it on their own.


	2. Sick

Sometime during the night, Natasha woke up coughing.

Her entire body hurt and her chest burned as she struggled into a sitting position.

She jolted Clint awake and he rubbed sleep out of his eyes. "Nat?"

Still coughing, the girl hunched over to try and ease the burning of her chest.

"Natasha?" Clint asked, clearly worried as he flicked on one of the torches they had.

He sat up fully and reached for her, hand on her back.

"Easy, Nat, in and out." He murmured, rubbing her back.

His best friends breathing was laboured and wheezy, and her eyes were not there at all.

"Just breathe." He said softly, subtly kicking the nearest person to him, Bucky.

The boy jerked up, arms held up in front of him. "Who's there?!"

"Buck, calm down, it's me. I need you to get some lights on and grab me some water."

It took Bucky only a few seconds to get up and flick on the torches they had placed around the building.

The lighting was poor but it was just enough for Clint to be able to see Natasha.

He was very silently freaking out, he had no idea what he was doing or how to help.

Natasha was swaying just sitting up, her eyes screwed shut and her face drained of colour.

Every breath rattled in her chest.

"What do we do?" Bucky asked, kneeling in front of them and passing the last of the water over to Clint.

"Get the others up, we...might need to go get some meds or...or find a doctor." Clint shook his head, holding the bottle up to Natasha's lips and coaxing her to drink.

Only a couple of sips later, she was spluttering and coughing again, just barely able to cover her mouth.

When she dropped her hands, her hand was covered in drops of red.

"Plan b." Clint exhaled shakily. "We need the hospital."

"But we-" Bucky started.

"Can't go to the hospital, I know, but she's really sick."

Bucky sighed and nodded, rubbing at his eyes and moving to wake up the other boys.

"Nat, we're gonna get you into a jacket okay?" Clint's voice shook ever so slightly as he lifted her arms and helped her into a jacket.

"Bruce, will you get over here?"

The boy knelt in front of them. "What's going on?"

"Nat's really sick. She's coughing up blood, I think. Your dad was a doctor right?"

"Um...well yeah, before he got fired for always being drunk." He murmured.

"What should we do?"

"It might be pneumonia. If it is, she's gonna need stuff we can't get from a store. It's gonna have to be the hospital." He sighed, stiffening at the thought.

"That's like half an hour away. No buses are running and she can't walk that far."

Bruce shook his head. "Ambulance?"

"And how are we gonna pay for that and for treatment? Not to mention, how do we explain we don't have any adults with us?"

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "No idea. Tony?"

"All we can do is deal with it later. We bullshit about why we're on our own, get her help and figure it out."

"All six of us?" Steve raised an eyebrow. "That's not gonna fly well. It's gotta be one of us with Nat, pretending to be her...brother or something."

"I'll do it." Clint murmured, looking up at them. "But I need a phone."

"Easy." Bucky shrugged. "The streets are gonna be crawling with drunk people." He stood. "Give me five."

Clint nodded and Bucky pulled up his hood, slinking off.

"We'll get her outside. They can't see this place, they'll figure out we live here."

Clint zipped up Natasha's jacket, cupping her flushed cheek. "Hey, Nat. We're gonna get you outside and get you some help, okay?"

The redhead blinked rapidly up at him, barely nodding her head.

"Okay guys, help her up." He murmured, standing and gently, Steve on her other side, lifting her up to her feet.

It took both of the boys to keep her up, Natasha tipping and almost falling straight away.

"Come on, firebird." Clint said gently. "We can do this."


	3. The Ambulance

Natasha seemed to get weaker with every step they took towards the door.

Bruce and Clint held up the majority of her weight and as soon as she hit the cold air, she collapsed.

Clint's eyes went wide as she went completely limp.

He just about dropped her, cursing as the two boys lowered her gently onto the ground.

Clint cupped her cheek, close to tears. "Nat, Natasha-" he looked back at Bruce.

The boy knelt, gently shaking her shoulder, his other hand pressing against her neck.

"She's just out, we need that ambulance though, the cold is only going to make things worse.

"I'm here." Bucky ran up, a little out of breath. "Shit-"

Clint grabbed the phone and dialled 911.

"Hello? I need an ambulance. My sister collapsed and she's been sick for a while. She was coughing and there was blood. She's eighteen, no it's just us. Yeah she's breathing. Can you just hurry?"

He gave out the street address and the woman instructed him to stay on the line.

He pressed the phone to his shirt to muffle the sound. "You two should get inside. They're on their way."

Bruce took a shaky step back and nodded, clutching Bucky's hand.

"Call us when you know anything." The dark haired boy murmured, tugging Bruce back inside.

Clint exhaled and sat down, Natasha cradled in his lap. He stroked her hair and murmured softly to her as he waited.

The ambulance didn't take long and they wasted no time getting Natasha into the back.

Clint played the brother card and managed to get in there too.

It was terrifying to watch as they took her vitals and put a mask over her face.

"Is she going to be okay?" Clint asked, voice cracking.

One of the paramedics nodded. "Her oxygen is a little low so the mask is going to help her breathe a little easier."

"Why did she pass out?"

"We're working to figure that out. Has anything happened that might have made your sister sick?"

"I...I don't know." Time to bullshit. "We go for walks a lot, out into nowhere and we got caught in the rain. It took us an hour to get home. That's all I can think of."

"That's a very plausible reason she may be ill. Does she have any illness' you know of?"

"She was sick a lot as a kid." Shit. There would be records of that. "But we didn't have the money for treatment so we cared for her at home. She always gets better. She will get better right?"

"If she's sick with what we think she might be, it's very treatable with the right medication."

Clint nodded, hastily rubbing his eyes.

"I know it's difficult, but she's in the right hands." the paramedic assured him.

"Thank you. It's just we live with some friends of ours, and we haven't spoken to our parents since we turned eighteen and moved out. She's all I have."

The woman nodded sympathetically. She didn't look much older than them and she seemed to relate to their story. "I get that. Don't worry, we can help her. You did the right thing calling."

They got to the hospital then and they rolled Natasha out.

The paramedics job was effectively over but she led him to the front desk and asked for the paperwork to book Natasha into the hospital.

"Where are they taking her? What're they gonna do?" Clint asked, hands shaking as he picked up the pen.

"They'll get her settled into a room, run some blood tests and probably run an x-ray of her chest. They'll keep up with the oxygen and probably start a drip in her arm to give her the medicine she needs."

"She's not gonna die?" he asked weakly.

"This kind of thing is very treatable, she's in the right place."

That wasn't exactly reassuring but he guessed they couldn't ever give anyone definites just in case.

''Thank you for your help." he said softly. He was homeless not rude.

"Of course. Hey, how about I'll drop by after my shift and if you have any questions I can help more then once they have a diagnosis."

"That would be great, thank you..."

"Bobbi. Morse. And you are?"

"Henry." He said quietly. No real names, no last names that could be checked.

"Well, Henry, I'll let you get back to your sister. I'll be done in a couple hours."

"Yeah, thanks." He smiled weakly, moving to find a seat to fill out the paperwork.

He looked down at the stolen phone, finding a note on the home screen.

'Took another phone. Here's the number. Call us. -Buck'

Clint hadn't even thought about it when Bucky had said to call them. They didn't have any phones so it made sense he'd lifted another.

They'd all gotten good at pickpocketing, and they hated doing it unless it was necessary.

Clint tapped out a quick message that he was waiting for the doctors and that Nat seemed as well as could be expected.

After he'd handed the paperwork in- filled out with the bare minimum and with the names of two very real people who weren't minors, Clint sat back in the seat, shaking all over.

Natasha had to be okay.

She had to.


	4. Hospital

Almost an hour passed before anybody came to talk to Clint.

"Jones. Henry, is it?" the doctor asked.

"Yes. My sister, is she..."

"She's okay, resting. Would you come with me for a moment?"

Clint nodded and stood, anxious. Shit. They knew didn't they?

"Okay, so we ran some tests and it's almost certain she has pneumonia. It's an illness that affects the lungs mainly. The blood you mentioned seems to be aggravation to the throat, not from her lungs. She needs specific medication, and because she's so groggy, it's best we use an IV for that. She'll need to stay a couple days at least so we can monitor her symptoms and help with her breathing. Are you two on your own?" he quirked an eyebrow as he flicked through the forms.

"Yeah, well no actually. I'm her only family really, we don't speak to our parents but we live with friends of ours."

The doctor hummed, clearly not entirely buying it but having no real reasons to go on.

"So can I see her?"

"Of course. I'll take you to her room."

Once there, the doctor left and Clint was alone with a barely conscious Natasha.

He exhaled shakily and crossed the room, picking up her hand. "Fuck, Nat, you know how to scare a guy."

The redhead blinked, absently scratching at the two prongs under her nose; giving her oxygen to help her breathe better.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, dragging a hand over her eyes.

"You're pretty sick, Nat. We had to call an ambulance."

"Shit. Did they-"

"Find out about us?" he murmured lowly shaking his head. "No I lied and said were those twins I went to school with. They won't find us out, when you're better we'll just leave before they realise something is up."

He squeezed her hand, eyes soft.

"This won't work." Natasha whispered voice raspy.

"It will. Just breathe and relax. We've been in worse situations than this."

Natasha squeezed her eyes shut, leaning back against the pillows.

"The bed is nice."

"Hmm it seems it." he smiled.

"Get up here and hug me, idiot." she murmured, shuffling to the far side of the bed.

Clint was instantly next to her, arms wrapping around her.

She felt like fire as she nestled into him, nearly asleep already.

"Rest, Red. We can get through this."


	5. Bobbi Knows Something

It had been the middle of the night when they'd gotten to the hospital, and both of them had fallen asleep very quickly.

It had been years since they'd had a real bed, and even a hospital bed was more comfortable than their blankets on the floor.

At about seven in the morning, the hospital started to get busier.

Someone came in, pushing a trolley, asking if Natasha wanted a hot drink and some food.

The redhead paused for a minute, nervous energy radiating off her.

She badly wanted some food, but they'd have to pay more for that later on, right?

"We're leaving before they can even think about charging us. Eat." Clint murmured against her ear.

Natasha nodded and asked for a number of things. Cereal, toast, tea.

The woman was older and friendly and she made two teas, winking at Clint as put down two lots of the food too.

"I get the feeling you won't be leaving to get yourself some food, and technically I shouldn't give you some as well."

"I won't tell if you don't." Clint grinned that bright charming smile of his. "Thank you."

Once she'd left, the pair devoured the food without pausing for breath.

Any meals they got, they'd all shared and it didn't go very far with six very hungry teenagers.

This was a rare treat and one they couldn't turn down.

Once full, cradling their hot drinks, Natasha leaned into Clint.

She still looked exhausted, but her breathing wasn't rattling quite as much.

"How're you feeling, Nat?"

"Okay. I could probably leave now." She shrugged.

"Um, no you couldn't. You need to stay here and get at least a days worth of the medicine. It'll just be worse if we run now and then need to come back later if you get worse."

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I hate it here."

"Agreed." He murmured, squeezing her shoulder. "We won't be here long. You just rest, eat all the food they give you, feel better. Then we leave."

There was a knock on the door and they halted speaking right away, wary eyes on the figure at the door.

Natasha was instantly on high alert, narrowed gaze watching the woman.

Clint smiled. "This is Bobbi. She was one of the paramedics that helped you."

Still wary, Natasha nodded her head. "Hi."

"Its nice to see you awake. I had a quick talk with your brother after we dropped you off. I said I'd be checking in."

"Okay..." the redhead shrugged, walls completely up and guarded.

She always was with anyone other than the five boys.

"How are you feeling?" The blonde stepped into the room.

She couldn't have been much older than them.

"Good. Fine." She said quietly.

Bobbi nodded, clearing her throat. "Good. That's good. So..."

Uh oh.

"I was starting to wonder why I felt drawn to you." She pointed at Clint. "And then I realised I went to school with you."

Shit.

"Uh...I've been told I have one of those faces. It wasn't me. I didn't live round here till a few months ago."

"Neither did I." She said softly, eyes soft.

"You see, I lived in Iowa. And I knew your brother. Well, through friends I knew him. Don't think I ever said more than a word to him. Anyway, Barney was my age. And you...well you were three years below us." She took another step forward.

Natasha was coiled tightly, ready to hit the girl and run out and never look back.

Clint just swallowed, head bobbing. "I see."

"So that means you're only sixteen. Can you see where I'm going with this?"

"That...you're going to go to the police. But the thing is, you didn't know Barney, and you don't know me. We will run and you will never find us." He shook his head and climbed from the bed.

"I'm not going to the police. I told you before that I understood. And I do. There's a reason you're not at home, a reason you're running and hiding and lying. I'm not going to pry into that." She said softly.

"Look, I just want to know you're okay and not about to bolt. Your..."

"Best friend." Clint said weakly.

"Well she needs medical care. She needs to stay here. But thing is...I know you guys aren't going to be able to pay the bills. And I know you won't go home."

She glanced between the pair, nervously fiddling in her pocket.

"I have...some numbers for you. You have a phone because you called the ambulance. I don't care how you got it. Keep it. My number is here and...this man helped me a lot in the past. I'm sure he could help you too. His name is Phil. He's not police, but he can help." She handed Clint the scrap of paper.

"Consider it. I can answer any questions you have. And please don't bolt. I'm not going to tell anyone." She nodded at them.

"Feel better..."

"Natasha." The girl whispered.

"Natasha. Just think about it."

She smiled weakly and then left.

Natasha immediately burst into a fit of coughs, wincing as it pulled her chest.

"Easy, Nat, deep breaths. I've got you." Clint murmured, stroking back stray strands of red.

"Who the hell is that woman?" She asked once she'd recovered.

"I...don't remember ever seeing her. There were a lot of kids."

"Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"Well..." he swallowed. "She knew Barney's name so...that wasn't a stab in the dark."

She still didn't know the whole story there.

"What do we do?"

"You rest. I'll figure it out." He said softly, kissing her temple.

"We always figure it out."


	6. Visiting

Natasha slept most of the day, curled up besides Clint and only waking for vital checks and later, more food.

It was reaching visiting hours and Clint had gotten a message to the others and they were coming to see her.

They'd had to separate before. More than once.

But it was still strange to be apart from the boys she called family.

Natasha felt too nervous to eat much of the dinner the nurses gave her, but Clint kept the tray for later.

The redhead couldn't stop over thinking. Couldn't stop thinking that Bobbi would tell someone. That they'd be found out.

That's she'd be taken back to her father.

"Easy, Nat, stop thinking so hard." Clint bumped her shoulder.

They'd been playing a word game on the phone and Natasha had gotten increasingly quiet.

"I'm just worried." She said quietly, sighing and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I know. But I'm good at reading people, I don't think she'll tell anyone."

"Maybe not. But we could still get found out. If they notice the documents are different...that we're not them..."

"They won't. That's why we used real people. Try not to worry." Clint murmured, kissing her temple.

"Knock knock." A voice sounded at the door and Clint grinned.

"Hey guys." Natasha smiled, sitting up a little straighter.

Clint fussed over her, making sure the oxygen tubes under her nose were still in place, pulling the blanket up to her chest.

"Sorry we didn't bring flowers." Bucky stepped in and grabbed one of the chairs by the bedside.

"That's okay. You can just owe me some." Natasha chuckled.

"But we did manage to swipe this." Tony placed a brand new in packet phone charger in front of her.

"Now if we get separated, two of us have phones. If we make sure if we split, one person with a phone is with each group, sorted." The boy shrugged.

"You got one for the other phone?" Natasha asked.

"Course. Me and Bruce have this down by now, they never noticed."

Steve kept eyeing the tray of food in the corner, trying to be subtle but failing.

"Help yourself." Natasha gestured at the tray. "Apparently I get snacks later on too. I'll grab extra."

Steve worried his lower lip. "You're sick. You need to eat."

"I had food earlier. We both did. I'm not hungry." Having a full meal had actually made her feel a little sick.

Bruce swallowed hard and reached for the tray. "There's jello." The boy marvelled, eyes bright.

It was crazy how such small things had come to mean so much.

"Eat it." Natasha said firmly. "Please."

Steve nodded, passing a spoon to Bruce as the two boys opened the jello and very carefully took a little.

Tony went for the sandwich and ripped it into four evenly sized bits, passing them about.

"Oh my god." Bucky shook his head. "This is freaking amazing."

"Amen to that." Tony grinned.

They split the bag of chips and soon all four were eagerly eating their little bits of food.

"So Nat, how're you feeling?" Bucky asked, after he'd finished inhaling his quarter of the sandwich.

"Pretty good." The redhead shrugged. "I got some pain meds."

"Lucky." Tony whined, pouting over his food.

Tony made it seem like a joke but he'd gotten hurt not long ago.

Him and Bucky had been running, getting chased by some guy who'd seen them shove bread under their jackets.

The guy had fully pushed Tony to the floor, shoved him so hard his arm had cracked with the force.

The man had fled.

Knowing the man wouldn't want to get in trouble with the police himself, the boys knew no one would come after them.

They'd gone home, bread squished but still fine, but with Tony's arm broken.

They'd wrapped it up with an old shirt but the meds in stores were always locked up and they hadn't been able to get any.

The first night had been awful, Tony writhing and trying not to cry at the pain that radiated down his entire body.

The next day, they'd swiped some cold drinks from a vendor and the cold had helped a little but it had gotten warm quickly.

It obviously had never healed properly and Tony had gotten physically sick more than once with the pain.

His shoulder was still stiff and he couldn't move his arm properly at all.

"I got you, Tone." Natasha reached under her pillow and pulled out two white tablets.

"They started letting me take the meds instead of injecting them."

"But..." Tony frowned.

"So I cheeked them then I pretended to be sick in the bathroom. They started injecting the meds again. It's not a lot but..."

"It is." Tony shook his head, accepting the tablets. "It's great, thanks Tash."

"Of course."

"I'll keep them for when I really need them."

But Natasha could tell he was in pain.

"Take one. I'll get more. I promise."

Tony looked between his friends and nodded, taking one of the pills dry.

"Any idea how long they'll keep you?" Steve asked.

"A couple days. I'll save the meds and some of the food. We'll have enough for a week at least. Plus, there's a day room for visitors. Hot drinks, biscuits."

Bucky perked up at that. "Really, we can just take them?"

Natasha smiled. "Knock yourselves out."

Bruce stood, excited. "Then I'm gonna get some tea. You guys want one?"

"I'll come help." Steve hummed. "A hot drink sounds amazing."

"Coffee please!" Tony grinned. "This is brilliant."

A couple minutes later, the two boys returned with four drinks.

"They had hot chocolate!" Steve shook his head. "And they're just giving it away."

Natasha sank back, happy to see her boys smile.

"And..." Bruce grinned, slightly sheepish as he patted his pockets. "Biscuits."

"Awesome!" Tony chuckled.

A knock at the door had them all immediately quiet.

"Just checking in. Can I take your vitals, Natasha?"

The redhead nodded, suppressing a sigh.

"It's nice you have so many visitors. Friends?" The women asked as she clipped the pulse monitor to her finger.

"Yep. From school." Natasha smiled.

"Very nice. How are you feeling? Your breathing a little easier?"

"A little. It still feels...tight." she shrugged.

"That's understandable, I'll up the oxygen a little. It's still low." The nurse hummed. "And the pain?"

"Bearable. Still there though."

The nurse nodded sympathetically. "I'll grab you some meds. Do you feel up to taking them?"

Natasha knew she'd probably be able to use the fake throwing up only another once before they just went straight to putting them in the IV.

"Yup!" Natasha smiled. "My stomach is feeling better."

"That's good to hear, I'll back in a minute with your meds. And sorry boys, but visiting is over. I'll give you another five minutes though." She smiled.

Once she'd gone, the boys sighed and quickly finished up their drinks.

"Do you think it's rude if we take another drink with us?" Bucky asked, looking down at his empty cup.

"I don't think anyone will mind." Clint shrugged. "That's what they're there for."

"Cool. Because hot chocolate is just chocolate milk when it's cold and I haven't had chocolate milk in way too long." Bucky sighed.

They four stood and took it in turns to give hugs to Clint and Natasha.

"We miss you." Steve squeezed her hand.

"Feel better soon, Nat." Bucky kissed her cheek.

"I'll see you all tomorrow, yeah?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Of course." Bruce reassured. "As soon as we can."

"Keep Clint safe, Red." Tony winked as they left the room.

After the nurse came and gave her some meds, she waited ten minutes before pretending to rush to the bathroom.

She made the noises as Clint went and grabbed another nurse.

Just as the nurse knocked, Natasha flushed the toilet and leaned her head against the wall besides it.

"Oh honey." The nurse rubbed her back. "Let's get you back to bed."

She gently led Natasha to the bed and put the oxygen back under her nose.

She handed her a basin and checked her vitals again.

"Your heart rate is a little high, are you in pain?"

"Yeah I...I didn't exactly have time for the meds to work before I threw up."

"I'll go get you some meds for your IV. I think it's better we use that now, hmm?"

Natasha sighed and nodded. "If that's easier. I think they just don't agree with me."

"It happens. I'll grab some anti-nausea medication too. Can I get you something else to eat?"

Natasha feigned pulling a face. "I don't think I could eat right now."

"I'll get you something for later." The nurse smiled.

"Thank you."

After the nurse had left, Natasha slid the pills from under the cushion and handed them to Clint to keep.

"You should be an actress." Clint murmured, arm around her.

"I am pretty good at that." She chuckled.

The nurse came to inject the meds and soon Natasha was floating just a little.

"Sleep, Nat. I've got you."

When the redhead woke next, it was dark out the window and the only sounds were the machines and soft snoring coming from the other rooms.

Natasha closed her eyes and sank back, turning to cuddle into Clint.

She was just falling asleep again when she heard a voice.

A voice she hadn't heard in years and had no wish to hear again.

"Natalia. It's been a while."

Natasha sat bolt upright, eyes wide.

"Aren't you going to say hello to your father?"


	7. Her Father

Hey everyone. New chapter coming today. Im suffering badly with my chronic illness so this fic and all my others will be a little more sporadically updated until I get over this slump. TW for parental abuse and violence.

/

Natasha stiffened, sitting bolt upright, very very awake now.

"Huh? I haven't seen you for years and you're not even gonna say hello?" The man stepped towards the bed and Natasha flinched, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Still quiet, hmm?" Another step towards her.

Her nails dug into the flesh of her knees, eyes locked on him.

"I guess you finally learned some manners. So, Natalia, I think it's time you stop this childish behaviour and come home."

Natasha shook her head, voice shaking. "No."

"Excuse me?" He snapped, voice low.

"I said...no." She whispered, cringing as he came towards her without warning, grabbing her wrist.

"You may have been gone, little girl, but you'd do well to remember that you never speak to me like that." He growled.

"I..." Natasha stammered. That was when two years ago, Natasha would have apologised. Begged him to forgive her.

Instead she closed her mouth and tipped her head back, defiant.

Her father's lips pulled back in a snarl and he twisted her arm in his grip.

Natasha gritted her teeth against the pain but made no noise.

"Get up." He spat. "You're coming with me."

"I don't think she is." Clint hissed from beside Natasha.

"And who the fuck are you, hmm? Her boyfriend? Nah, Natalia is too damaged for that sort of thing."

"Natasha," Clint growled, "is nothing to you anymore. She's done with you. I suggest you leave, before I make you leave."

Her father laughed, grinning. "Okay, kid, and how are you gonna do that?"

Clint stood off the bed, eyes dark. "Take your hand off her."

His grip stayed.

"Fine." The boy hummed.

He punched her father and the man stumbled back a step, hand slipping from her wrist.

Natasha was off the bed in an instant, heart in her mouth. "Clint, no-" she choked.

Her father laughed, teeth bloody. He lunged at Clint, knocking him to the floor.

He was on him in seconds, fist slamming into his face.

Clint grunted, hands digging into the man's shoulders as he bucked up and kicked him.

His kick sent the man onto his arse and Clint, nose bleeding, stood and moved in a moment.

Clint kicked again, at his stomach this time. He did it twice, three times.

Then he hovered over the man for a second before spitting on him and slamming his foot down onto his face.

He then turned, grabbed the phone off the table, took Natasha's hand and pulled her to the door.

"Run." He murmured and she put one foot in front of the other, and soon they were both running.

Natasha felt like she was moving through water, every step was a struggle and her chest ached.

She was still sick, but more than that, she was terrified.

They ran through the hall and to the door, someone shouting after them as they got outside.

With his hand firmly in Natasha's, Clint led her off to the side and then they were running through the dark.


	8. Running

Hey everyone! Warnings for referenced child sexual and physical abuse, flashbacks, panic attacks, self harm, injuries etc.

/

They'd been running for a while before Natasha had to stop.

Her breathing was pained as she stumbled onto her knees.

Clint knelt, hand on her back. "Easy, Nat, nice and slow." He murmured.

He looked behind them and found no one there, so at least they had outrun whoever had followed.

Natasha gasped desperately, squeezing her eyes shut.

Clint didn't know if it was panic or the pneumonia that was causing the issues but they couldn't go back to the hospital.

He gently leaned her against the wall, placing her hand against his chest. "Nice and slow, Nat, you're okay." He murmured.

"Try and copy my breathing, hmm? In through your nose." He squeezed her shoulders, keeping her gaze as he deliberately inhaled and exhaled the way he needed her to.

Eventually, her breathing evened out and she could talk.

"Shit-" she croaked, shaking her head. "He found me. How did he find me?"

Clint sighed. "The paramedic, right? Bobbi. It had to have been her. The number she gave us was probably bullshit."

It wasn't her, but they had now way of knowing that.

Natasha seemed oddly calm now as she tenderly tilted his head to examine his nose.

"I dont think it's broken. Christ, Clint, you really went off on him." She sighed, trying to wipe at the drying blood under his nose.

"I'm sorry." Clint murmured, sincere in his apology.

"Don't be. He would've dragged me back if you hadn't." She sighed.

"Let's not think about it." He said quietly. "We're not far from the place the others are staying. We should go meet them. We're gonna need to find somewhere else."

"Shit. Yeah, you're right. God, I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"It is not your fault." Clint said firmly. "We've been there too long anyway, we needed to move soon."

Natasha didn't believe him but nodded anyway.

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Fuck." Clint muttered, realising not only was she wearing only a hospital gown, but her feet were bare too.

"Here." Clint shrugged off his jumper and quickly wiggled it over her head, helping her get her arms in.

She winced and inhaled sharply as they got her arm through the hole and Clint gingerly used the phone as a light so he could see.

Her wrist was black and blue, mottled fingertip bruises creeping up her skin.

She pulled her hand to her chest. "It's fine. We have to go."

"Wait.'' He sighed, kneeling and pulling off his shoes, before helping Natasha slide her feet into them.

He had socks on, so at least this way, her feet wouldn't get any more torn up then they likely already were.

Clint wrapped his arm around Natasha's waist and they headed to their temporary home.

...

They were met with hushed voices, and very nearly got tackled to the floor.

"Jesus, Buck, get off me." Clint smacked his arm and the boy took a step back.

"Clint? What the fuck are you two doing here?"

Dawn was just breaking and as light filtered in through the window, the boys eyed their friends.

Clint shook his head, carefully leading a trembling Natasha over to the blankets.

After helping her sit down, Clint turned to the boys and gestured them over and away from Natasha.

"Her dad showed up." Clint murmured, wiping at his nose with a wince.

"Shit." Bruce cursed.

"Yeah, shit." Clint sighed. "He tried to grab her, make her come with him. There was...a fight."

"Tell me you kicked his ass." Tony growled.

Clint chuckled, but not out of humour. "You could say that."

He looked over at Natasha, pale and rocking herself in the corner.

"We have to move. In case he finds her again, she can't go back there." His gaze darkened.

"Of course not." Thor clapped his back.

"We can find somewhere else, easy." Steve nodded.

"Let's pack up, and get walking. I want as much distance as possible between us and that hospital." Clint headed over to Natasha.

"Nat?" Clint knelt, reaching to touch her cheek.

The redhead recoiled, gaze very much not present as she hunkered against the wall.

Shit.

"Nat, can you hear me? It's just me, it's Clint." He tried to get into her line of sight but her eyes passed through him.

"You're okay, he's not going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you."

He winced as her nails drew blood, digging into the flesh of her arms.

Dammit, she'd been doing so well with the self harm lately too.

He didn't dare touch her to pull her hands from her skin.

Flashbacks utterly fucking sucked.

All he could do was talk to her, keep reiterating that no one was going to hurt her. That she wasn't there anymore. That she was okay.

He'd thought the worst had passed but then she started screaming.

Clint's eyes widened and their friends came running at the noise.

Natasha had her hands over her face and was half sobbing, half screaming into her palms.

"No! No, please, I don't want-" a choked, breathless sob, more scrambling to get back, but she was already at the wall.

"Please-" tears wet her cheeks as she kicked her legs out and hit at someone who wasn't there.

"No, no, daddy-" a horrible, keening wail.

The boys froze.

Only Clint and Bucky knew nearly everything that had happened to her.

But watching her, the other boys knew. They just knew.

Clint was close to tears as he tried to get her to come back to them.

In the end, despite her hitting and kicking, he touched her shoulder, gentle and warm.

And he stayed there for what felt like hours until the sobs died down and her gaze lifted.

"Clint?" She whispered, shaking all over.

"Tasha." He breathed, gathering her in his arms, kissing her hair. "I love you. You're okay." He murmured.

The other boys stepped back to finish gathering what meagre items they had.

Bucky came over, handing Natasha a pair of pants. "Here, Nat. They're gonna be a bit big but-"

"They're fine. Thanks, Buck." She said quietly, Clint helping her stand.

"Sorry, Barton, we don't have any other shoes."

Clint shrugged. "We'll get some from wherever we stay next."

"And where will we stay next?" Bucky asked, quiet.

"Somewhere far away." Clint replied. " Somewhere our pasts will stay our pasts."

If only that could be the case.


	9. Walking and Searching

Clint wound his arm around Natasha's waist as they left the building.

Their small amount of items were evenly divided between the boys and Clint along with Tony had the two phones and chargers.

If for whatever reason they had to split, Clint would go with Natasha and Bucky and Tony would go with Bruce and Steve.

They walked quickly and with purpose, hoods pulled over their heads, faces down.

As the sun continued it's climb, the kids walked, weaving in and out of people heading to breakfast or work.

They'd been walking across town for almost an hour but Natasha was severely flagging and she held her wrist to her chest, pale and shaking.

An hour was a good amount away from the hospital, at least for now, so then it came to finding somewhere to stay.

Clint and Natasha ducked into an alley and sat. The boys would be able to figure out somewhere to stay between the four of them.

Tony knelt before the boys left for their search, handing her the pain pill she'd given him the night before.

It seemed like that night had been years ago.

Natasha shook her head, trying to push it back into his hand. "Your arm-" she mumbled.

"Your arm." Tony set his jaw and held her fingers around the pill. "You need it. Between the pneumonia and your arm, it's a wonder you made it this far."

He rummaged in his bag before pulling out a half full bottle of water.

"Take the pill, close your eyes and drink the water. We'll figure it out." Tony assured her, squeezing her hand and standing.

The boys came back twenty minutes later, looking triumphant.

"We found the best place." Bucky grinned. "They're knocking down old apartments, or they were gonna, it looks like they ran outta money or something."

"Most of them are far from habitable but we scoped one out and it seems pretty stable." Steve smiled.

Tony hummed. "There's a couple of stores down the street and there's a public bathroom right around the corner. It's gross as fuck but it's a toilet and sink nonetheless."

Bruce offered his hand to Natasha. "Come on. We can set our blankets up again and get you warm and then me and Tone can go explore a little and bring back some food."

They headed to the apartment and Clint whistled.

It was pretty damn run down but they had two whole floors and a kitchen and everything.

Obviously none of the electric or water taps worked but it was nice to have the rooms anyways.

The six of them explored the house, coming to the last bedroom.

Noise sounded from inside.

Bucky and Clint instantly took the front, Bucky pulling his pocket knife from his bag as they moved towards the door.

Clint nodded at the others and in a second, they were crashing into the room.

A dirty face looked up from the corner.

"Who are you?" Bucky demanded, knife out in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." the person they saw now, was young, maybe the same age as them.

His voice shook.

"I'm Thor. I live here."


	10. Talking and deals

Steve stepped in front of the rest of them, holding his hand out so the others would stay back.

"I'm Steve." He said softly. "I'm sorry for us breaking in here, we needed somewhere to stay and we didn't think anyone else was here."

The boy in the corner took a step forward, eyes darting around the group.

"How old are you?" Steve asked, tone gentle.

Thor cleared his throat, pushing blonde hair from his eyes. "Seventeen. Eighteen in a couple months. I'm not...I'm not going to get anyone in trouble, I'm just waiting till my birthday."

Realisation dawned and Steve nodded. "So you're legally allowed to do what you want, yeah?"

The boy had a thick accent, though Steve had no idea where he was from.

Thor exhaled, absently rubbing his forehead. "Exactly. I need...You're about my brothers age, this was the last place I could track him to before he ditched my credit card. Have you seen him?" The boy reached into his pocket and handed over a photograph.

A scrawny, black haired boy scowled at the person taking the picture.

Unfortunately as Steve passed around the photo, the others shook their heads.

Thor's face fell and he stroked his thumb over the picture as it was handed back to him. "Thank you anyway." He said quietly.

"Hey man," Clint chimed in from towards the back, "if you let us stay here for a while, we can try and help you find your brother."

Thor looked uncertain and Tony stepped forward. "How long have you been out here?"

The blonde shrugged, eyes darting around again. "Why does it matter?"

"So not very long, huh? We've been at it for a while now. I'm sure that if we can stay here, as well as helping you look for your brother, we can help out with food and stuff like that."

Thor's fingers wrapped around the front of his jacket, over his stomach.

He thought for only a few seconds before nodding.

"Okay." He held out his hand.

Steve grabbed it, squeezing and shaking before withdrawing.

"Hungry?" Natasha asked softly, shaking where she stood.

Thor nodded. "Starving." He admitted quietly.

"Let's go sit down, some of the boys are gonna go out and look for food, but I have a couple of things left."

Thor led them to the 'living room' and they all spread out in a circle.

Clint sat beside Natasha, arm around her waist as the girl rummaged through her bag.

Steve and Bucky remained standing, carefully layering up the jackets they shared between them; more pockets equalled more food.

"So, Thor, since we're all friends now," Tony hummed, "let's introduce ourselves."

"Blondie over there is Steve, next to him is Bucky, I'm Tony. Next to me is Bruce. That's Natasha and Clint there."

Thor smiled, nodding. "It's nice to meet you."

Natasha finally found what she was looking for and passed over a couple of biscuits in a little package; the one thing they'd managed to swipe from the hospital.

Thor grabbed for them, tearing into the plastic before shoving them into his mouth.

Once he'd swallowed, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, my manners are lacking recently."

The redhead only smiled. "It's not a problem, we've all been there and-" her sentence was cut off by a wracking cough, shaking her body as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Thor blinked as Clint rubbed up and down her back, murmuring softly to her as Bruce quickly handed over some water.

"You're okay, deep breaths." Clint whispered.

Eventually the fit passed, Natasha woozy as she leaned her head against Clint's shoulder.

"You're sick." Thor said quietly, fingers rubbing over the material of the black, gold and green scarf around his neck.

"There was an issue at the hospital. We had to run before she finished treatment." Clint sighed, eyes worried as he stroked through her red hair.

Thor unwrapped the scarf from his neck, leaning over to carefully wind it around Natasha's neck, zipping up her jacket so the end of the scarf was tucked in.

"My brother was sick a lot as a child, it's important to keep your chest warm so the cold doesn't make it worse." The blonde smiled and sat back down.

Natasha blinked, touching the scarf. "Thank you." She said softly.

"Of course."

Bucky and Steve took one of the phones from Clint before heading out to hopefully find some food for them.

"We should set up somewhere to sleep but keep most of your stuff in the bags in case we need to run again." Tony pulled out the sleeping bags.

"One thing you should know, Thor, if you want to stay around us...there are people looking for us. If they find us, they'll find you too." Bruce warned him.

"I have people looking for me too. It's not a bother. It's nice to actually be in this with someone else." Thor said quietly.

"Pretty much all of us started out alone too, and we found each other over time. It's not good to be alone out here, Thor." Clint squeezed Natasha as she drifted to sleep.

Thor nodded, smiling sadly. "No one should be alone."


	11. Chatting

Bucky and Steve came back triumphant, spreading their wares out.

They had a half loaf of bread, a bag of slightly mushy but still fairly good oranges, three cookies with a burnt edge, a bottle of orange juice with yesterday's date and somehow, somehow they'd gotten a hold of some painkillers.

"Companies are ridiculous," Bruce muttered, leaning forward to examine one of the oranges. "Foods are a little soft or something and they put them out on the nearly free table. And as soon as things go out of date, they're in the trash."

All of them had learned when most stores threw out their stuff, when the cheap table would be full, when security would be away from the cameras. They rarely had to venture inside the stores anymore, and only risked it when they needed something specific, like meds.

They were used to splitting the food, and no one seemed to mind that they were splitting it one more time. They all had an orange, nearly half of a cookie and the bread and OJ sat in the middle to be picked at. They trusted that no one person would take more than their share.

Natasha was handed a couple of the meds before Steve tucked the packet into his pocket.

Both Natasha and Tony had past problems with drugs and even though they were the ones in pain at that time, it wasn't a good idea for either of them to have a hold of the packet.

Taking a swig of the juice, Natasha swallowed the pills, sighing softly. She leaned into Clint's side, more playing with her piece of cookie than eating it. In the end, she pulled a face and handed it over to Thor, who had already torn through his share of the food.

"Are you sure?" He asked softly.

"I had a lot to eat at the hospital, I'm sure. If that's okay." She looked around the group. Usually if someone didn't want their share, they would determine who needed it most. They'd all had food at the hospital and it seemed by the way he was eating, that Thor hadn't for a while. Everyone nodded and Thor eagerly accepted the cookie.

"I'm going to lay down." The redhead proclaimed. "I'll have my orange later." She slowly stood up, wandered over to their bags. It was the middle of the afternoon and still warm, so she didn't feel bad taking the only sleeping bag. She curled up inside after laying it across the dusty floor, just the top of her head peeking out.

There were plenty of rooms she could have gone to, but they'd all shared a room for so long that leaving them even to rest felt weird and scary.

Clint bit his lip as he watched her settle down, sighing and pulling his knees up to his chest.

"She'll be okay." Bucky said softly, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder.

Clint shook his head. "I don't know, man. You should have seen her when he came towards me. She was terrified. We can't..."

"We won't." Tony said firmly. "None of us are ever going back to those hellholes, okay? Well, unless goldilocks is going to."

Thor looked up from his orange peel, shrugging. "I don't care if I go back or not, I just need to find Loki."

"Huh, fair enough." Tony shrugged, wondering what it would feel like to not care about going back. None of the others could ever go back.

"So, Thor, do you know how to play poker?" Steve grinned.

"Definitely." Thor chuckled. "I must warn you, I'm very good."

"Oh okay, it's on." Steve stood, "we have a pack of cards, a couple are missing but we managed to get some paper and draw the ones we didn't have." He told Thor as they headed to one of the sides of the room.

The remaining four shuffled a bit closer to one another, and up close, Clint could see that Bruce was shaking.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Tony gently squeezed Bruce from where he was pressed to his side. "Do you want me to explain?" He asked softly. Bruce nodded, teeth biting into his lip.

"He's scared. Nat's dad came after her and he...he's scared his will come too." Tony murmured.

"Oh, B. He won't, he absolutely won't." Bucky shook his head. "We had to go to the hospital, it was a risk we had to take but we'll be even more careful if we need to do it again. But we move often enough, we know how to avoid cameras. He won't find you."

"Nothing is gonna happen to you, Bruce. We're all going to look after each other and protect each other." Clint ducked his head into Bruce's line of view. "Yeah? That's what family does."

Bruce exhaled shakily, rubbing a trembling hand over his eyes. "I guess." He mumbled.

"We're going to look after you. That bastard won't get anywhere near you ever again." Tony murmured against his hair, pressing a kiss to the unruly curls.

Bruce nodded but didn't speak, tucking his head under Tony's chin.

"We're all gonna get through this." Clint murmured, more for Bruce but also because it was just nice to hear it.

Bucky nodded, eyes dark. He would fight anyone and anything to keep them all safe.

He lifted his head, nodding. "We'll get through this."


	12. Routines and strange calls

The next three days passed slowly.

Natasha slept a lot as her body tried to heal from the pneumonia without whatever drugs they'd been using at the hospital. Even if she hasn't been sick, there was a high probability that she would be sleeping anyways. She always did when something big prayed on her mind.

Despite the new surroundings, the group still hadn't strayed from the biggest 'living room', so Natasha was sleeping against one wall as the others got ready for the day.

They'd fallen into a routine quite quickly, it was unlike anything they'd done before.

As soon as the sun rose, everyone would start to wake up.

Bruce would step outside and sit in the fresh air for a little while, head tilted towards the sun for as long as he could risk before people started to walk the streets.

Tony would often stand watching Bruce, or would sit in one of the corners of the room and read through whatever free paper or discarded book or comic they'd found on their adventures.

Bucky and Steve would both do the same routine; they would go for a short run around and around the streets surrounding their new home, bright and early, always taking care to avoid cameras and most people. As they ran, they scoped out stores and restaurants for free food and always managed to come home with something to eat.

Thor liked company and as such would often spend the morning doing an activity with one of the others. Either that or he would retreat back to his blanket and pull out a notebook and pen, writing god knows what until everyone grouped back together.

Clint would cuddle with Natasha until he was fully awake before carefully pulling away from the girl and moving to collect water for everyone.

They didn't have running water in the house but after further exploration they found a water fountain about a ten minute walk away, for runners or dogs or whatever but having actual clean water to drink was a miracle.

Nobody wanted to think about moving from that place.

So Clint would gather whatever bottles or containers they had and would head down to the fountain before it became flooded with people.

He'd bring back all the containers and then the others would gather to clean up for the day.

They'd wash up using a cloth and as much water as they could risk. It wasn't entirely effective but it did the trick and it made do until they could use some of the free showers at the leisure or homeless shelters.

Then they would spread out in a circle and drink the rest of the water and split up whatever food the boys had managed to grab.

At this time, someone would try to coax Natasha out from the blankets to eat something.

That morning it was Bucky who crouched beside her, fingers carding through her hair and talking softly until he could get her to sit up.

A couple more minutes later and Natasha was sitting down in the circle.

Bucky exchanged a worried glance with Clint as Natasha slumped down, rubbing at her eyes.

"Here, love, some water and we managed to find some bread and stuff for breakfast." Bucky said quietly, sliding over the food.

The redhead pulled a face and sighed, "'m not hungry."

"Nat, you didn't have dinner yesterday, please try something?" Clint grabbed the bread and pulled of a corner, holding it out to her.

"You're still sick and to heal, your body needs you to eat and drink to help it out, yeah?" Bruce chewed on a nail, looking worried.

"Fine." The girl grumbled, taking the piece of bread Clint had pulled off.

Pressing a kiss to her temple, Clint wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Thank you, love."

Now that Natasha was slowly eating, everyone started up a conversation. They went over plans for that day, plans for the next day, about keeping hidden and safe.

They'd finally decided on where to go for food for dinner when the phone Clint kept in his pants began to ring.

Tony had gotten rid of all numbers attached to the phone and whoever had used to own it, he'd blocked calls from every single one of the contacts, so who was calling?

Clint held the phone in his hands, worried eyes looking around the group. Eventually Steve reached over and grabbed it, accepting the call and putting it on speakerphone.

"Hello?" He questioned, brows pulled together.

"Hi, I'm looking for Clint, is he there?" The voice spoke.

All eyes moved to stare at the boy as he stammered around words for a second.

He leaned in close to the phone, taking a shaky breath.

"Bobbi?"

/ / / /

A quick note: this fic is set early 2018, because I don't think I mentioned it before.

I'm uploading The Streets Prequels now and the first one is up. This is the link: s/13281166/1/The-Streets-Prequels


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